USA > Wisconsin > Sheboygan County > History of Sheboygan County, Wisconsin, past and present > Part 28
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In the Historical Review, of 1910, a journal devoted to the publication of local history, appeared the following lucid and comprehensive review of the salient features of Glenbeulah's existence. The greater part of the data was taken by the Review from Miss Anna Titel's sketch, entitled "History of Glenbeulah :"
"The history of Glenbeulah can be said to date back to 1850, when Hazel Peckham Clark came to this county from Rhode Island and settled on a piece of land, a part of which is the site of the village. There was no vil- lage there for several years after Mr. Clark came, still he saw the possibili- ties in the fine timber growing in that region, and erected a mill, which until very recently was operated. Mrs. R. A. Vanalstyne is a daughter of Mr. Clark. At about the same time that Mr. Clark settled at what is now Glenbeulah, William Poole also settled there.
"It was not, however, until 1857 that a village was thought of. It was that year that J. T. Dillingham, Edwin Slade, Captain Joseph Swift, Edward Appleton and Harrison Barret arrived in the town. As was said before there was a lot of fine timber in that region and a stream which might afford water power, and Messrs, Dillingham, Swift and Slade at once con- ceived the idea of utilizing the power and making use of the wood. They opened a store and established both a sawmill and a flouring mill. After several years they expanded their business by beginning to manufacture woodenware. It was in 1866 that the firm of Swift, Dillingham & Company dissolved, Mr. Dillingham taking the mills and factory and Mr. Slade, the store. Mr. Dillingham continued to operate his factory at Glenbeulah until 1884, when he removed it to Sheboygan, where it is one of the best enter- prises of that city. The factory was of much importance to Glenbeulah, because it employed a number of men. During the period the factory was in the village, the place flourished. It existed long enough, however, to arouse a feeling of pride and to encourage public spirit, and to this day
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High School Methodist Episcopal Church St. Fridolin's Church GLENBEULAH SCENES
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the people of the village hold to certain high standards. If it had not been for the factory a high school would probably never have been established in the village, but it is there and the people take a pride in maintaining it, and it was never more intelligently conducted than just now.
"Among the early comers was Edward Appleton, and he and Harrison Barret shared the honor of naming the place, and they certainly showed that they had poetry in their souls. It is a name which would attract at- tention anywhere for its beauty and euphony. It is explained that their in- vention was assisted by the beauty of the location in a glen and that the given name of Mr. Appleton's mother was Beulah.
"While Clark and Poole were the original private owners of the land of Glenbeulah, a house was built there as early as 1848, by Donden Ferguson. In 1850 it was purchased of C. Conger by Clark, who transformed it into a sawmill. In 1857 Clark disposed of the mill to Mr. Dillingham, in whose possession it remained for about twenty-seven years, when it became the property of R. A. Vanalstyne, who owned it until recently, when he sold it to Gust Baumann. It was only a few years ago that the old landmark was torn down.
"Dillingham, Slade and others had scarcely come into possession of the land and water powers when the erection of a flouring mill, now owned by George Metzger, was begun. A store was built on the site of that now be- longing to Goelzer Brothers. At about the same time the Glen House was erected and this hotel is now being conducted by James Mooney. The vil- lage was thus started in 1857.
"The mill was the property of Swift, Dillingham, Slade & Company, as was also the store. Herman Schnebly was the first to run the mill, the greater part of the product of which found its way to Boston and other eastern points. The partnership lasted until 1866, when Mr. Dillingham took the mills and the woodenware factory, which was established a few years before. The flouring mill was bought by J. Bauernfeind and a man by the name of Meyers, in 1873. For sixteen years it remained in their possession, when they sold it to Mr. Metzger, who subsequently disposed of it to his son, George Metzger, in whose possession it still remains.
"The Glen House, built by Mr. Dillingham in 1857, was at first merely a boarding house for the men employed in the construction of the dam for the flouring mill and in building the mill. Two years later it was made a hotel and thrown open to the public. It was then that G. Stannard took charge of it. The hotel has been successively owned or leased as follows : Mr. Scott, Mr. Hadley, Mr. Root, Mr. Miller, Mrs. Troop, Mr. Boggs, Mrs. Troop, Mr. Huntley, Mr. Imig, Mr. Maurer, Mr. Hitzler and Mr. Mooney. Not until Mr. Hadley came into possession of the hotel and livery was there any connection by rail between Glenbeulah and Fond du Lac. In the earlier days there was a stage coach running between the two places and it cost two dollars to ride from one place to the other, while at present it costs forty-eight cents by rail. Mr. Kendall drove the stage coach.
"The store erected in 1857 stood until 1892, when it was destroyed by fire. It was owned jointly by Messrs. Dillingham and Slade until 1866, when Mr. Slade became sole owner. He conducted it until 1891, when he
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sold it to E. Weaver, who had been in possession of it scarcely a year when it burned down. The site remained vacant until 1902, when Goelzer Brothers erected thereon their present store.
"One of the earliest comers to this part of the town was Joseph Syron, still living. He came in 1848. He was a carpenter by trade.
"The first meat market was opened by John Rossmann. The late Fred Beck, Sr., was the first to open a shoe shop in the village. Mr. Laden- berger was the first to swing the heavy sledge in the village. He opened a blacksmith shop in 1857, about the time the village was started. His par- ents, Mr. and Mrs. Philip Ladenberger, settled there in 1855, but the son spent two years, until 1857, in a machine shop in Fond du Lac. In 1875 he also began to deal in machinery and farm implements, and in 1884 he gave up blacksmithing and devoted his attention exclusively to his imple- ment and machine business. Three years after Mr. Ladenberger established his blacksmith shop in the village, John Dennis opened a wagon shop. The latter stood on the site of the present residence of H. E. Garling.
"Among the early acquisitions to the business interests of the county was a hardware store owned by a Mr. Badger. It was located on the lot now occupied by the residence of Mrs. Clark.
"Glenbeulah was exceedingly fortunate in the character of most of its early residents. They were men and women of intelligence and enterprise, and sought to establish a community in which it would be an advantage and an honor to reside. The names Dillingham, Slade, Swift, Clark, Syron, Ladenberger, Dennis, Barrett, Vanalstyne, Beck and scores of others stand for the things which make for better conditions, and no one can doubt that had Glenbeulah been more favorably located for trade, it would rank only second to Sheboygan in size and importance among the places of the county. The village had been scarcely more than established when a physician opened an office there. It was no less a personage than Dr. Emerson, who had come from the state of Maine. He was not a recent graduate but he had practiced for some time, and among his patients in the Pine Tree state were the members of the family of Hannibal Hamlin, who was elected vice president with Lincoln in 1860.
THE WOODENWARE FACTORY
"The enterprise which for a time seemed destined to give prominence to the village was the woodenware factory, mentioned in the early part of this article. It gave employment to sixty persons and made Glenbeulah a live village for a number of years. When, however, the timber in that region began to give out, the proprietor saw that he could operate his factory to a far greater advantage by changing its location and decided on removing to Sheboygan, which he did in 1884. This was a serious blow to the vil- lage and shattered the hopes of those who had seen in a vision the creation of a fond desire, a thriving and prosperous village. The factory produced many useful articles, such as cheese and butter boxes, measures, barrel covers, broom racks, cheese cases, hubs and others. Its yearly output was valued at about $75,000, and its product was widely distributed.
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"Simultaneously with the settlement of Glenbeulah provision was made for education. A small log building was erected and stood at the foot of what is known as the Beck hill in the eastern part of the village. The wages of teachers were by no means high. Eight dollars a month was con- sidered fair pay. Board was furnished, however, but the teacher was obliged to 'board around.' It was not long before the little log schoolhouse gave way to a frame building, which has since been remodeled into a store but is now occupied by the postoffice. Early the citizens of the place began to agitate the subject of establishing a graded school and in 1861 it was decided to erect a building with several departments and, in 1862, the pro- ject was consummated. The structure still stands and is now the largest and most attractive building in the village.
"It may not be inappropriate to mention here that Miss Isabel T. Clark, now Mrs. R. A. Vanalstyne, was one of the first instructors in the village and taught for several years. It should be said in relation to her that she acquired considerable prominence as a teacher. The schools of Glenbeulah have always ranked well with the better schools of Sheboygan county.
HIGH SCHOOL
It was in 1877 that the free school was established, J. F. Moran being principal. In 1882 the first class was graduated and consisted of the following: Fred Barrett, Maud Carroll, Anna Dennis, Sarah Devoy and Minnie Shufflebotham. Mr. Burton was the principal when the class fin- ished the course. It was made a four year high school in 1904, while R. M. Radsch was principal.
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SAWED WOOD FOR THE ENGINE
Glenbeulah was one of the few places of the county favored with a rail- way in its early days. It was only three years after the village was started that the Sheboygan & Western railroad was completed as far as the vil- lage. March 20, 1860, the first train entered Glenbeulah. A locomotive and three box cars on that date drew up to the depot, which had recently been built. The cars were loaded with wheat, and soon the first train pulled out for Sheboygan. Until 1867 Glenbeulah continued to be the west- ern terminus of the railroad. In that year the extension of the road west- ward was begun and the work in charge of S. M. Barrett was prosecuted until the road was completed to Fond du Lac. A fact which illustrates certain conditions regarding railroading in the county during those times is that wood was used for fuel in locomotives, and it is said of Jerry Dona- hue that he sawed with a hand saw all the wood required to run the engine between Sheboygan and Glenbeulah.
"In 1859 J. Rossman erected a hotel, which is now owned and con- ducted by R. G. Arnold, who purchased it from E. Heyn, also for a number of years proprietor of the hotel. A hotel was built by William Sinz in 1869. It is now conducted by M. Kirst, but was at various times in charge of Fred Titel, John Rauls and M. Feldmann.
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"A creamery was built in the village in 1896 by H. E. Garling and was operated by the firm of Garling & Son. They did not long continue to make butter, but soon began to make cheese, which they have since con- tinued to do.
"The building in which the postoffice is kept was originally a school- house, and was the first frame building used in the village for educational purposes. It was early discarded for the present structure. It has since been successively a shoe shop, by Mr. Beck; a candy store, first by Mrs. Metzger and second by Mrs. Walters; a meat market, by Melvin Collins; a harness shop, by Mr. Rhines, and now a postoffice.
"Glenbeulah has three churches established as follows: The Roman Catholic in 1860, the Methodist in 1883, the Lutheran in 1892. The Odd Fellows have a lodge in the village, organized January 17, 1867, with the following charter members: W. M. Clark, C. D. Gordon, I. B. Clark, W. M. Scott, J. A. Smith, Hiram Schnebly and R. A. Vanalstyne. The name of the lodge is Swift, No. 78. It is in a flourishing condition, with a mem- bership of about thirty.
"Lyceum Hall was built in 1872, being completed July 4th that year, and a dance was held in the hall on that day, the first event in the new building. In 1884 the library was installed and the establishment of the library and the organization of the literary society were steps which have resulted in much benefit to the village.
"Better lighting has recently been introduced in the village in business places and the library, in the way of gas light; and in 1908 the Glenbeulah Telephone Company was organized. Cement sidewalks are taking the place of wooden walks."
ST. FRIDOLIN'S CHURCH, GLENBEULAH
This congregation was established in 1865 by Rev. Father Haider, who was then resident pastor at Sheboygan. There are about twenty-five families in this congregation. At one time they had a resident pastor but only for a short period as the limited number of communicants made it impossible for them to maintain the expense. Rev. E. J. Meyer, of Plymouth, now holds services at this church.
HERMAN TOWN
Herman was first attached to the town of Sheboygan Falls as a precinct but only remained so one year, when it was organized separately by the county board in 1850, and was given the name of Howard. The name was changed to Herman the following year. The first town meeting was held at Howard's Hotel, on the Green Bay road, at which time Charles Oetling was elected chairman, and Mr. Howard, town clerk.
The first settler in Herman was Mr. Mungro, who located in the north part of the town on the farm later owned by Edward Newhouse. As he remained only two years the credit is given Fred Bender, Christian Wiehe, E. W. Schlichting and Heinrich Mahlstedt, who came from Germany with
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R. L. Frome Manufacturing Company VIEWS OF HOWARD'S GROVE
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their families in 1846 and located in the unbroken wilderness in the south part of the town. The first labor of this little colony was the preparation of logs for cabins, which were soon erected. Then clearings were made and the settlement became a fixed fact. At this time the only thoroughfare through this region was the Green Bay road, opened by the government in 1836. Late in the fall of 1846 F. Prigge, F. Beckfeld, P. Meyer and D. Nordholtz located in the town.
John Henry Dreyer, after arriving at the port of New Orleans from Germany in the fall of 1846, came direct to this town and settled on a hun- dred and sixty acre farm on section 22. Here he kept a tavern, a very popular resort for many years.
Frederick Prigge was a native of Germany and came to the United States in 1846. In the summer of that year he arrived in Sheboygan county and located on section 36, having bought a half of the section for ten shillings. On the 12th day of June, 1848, John E. P. C. Prigge, a son was born, and Ernst Schlichting, Peter Meyer and Christian Wiehe became godfathers to the babe. Numerous are the incidents related by Mr. Prigge of the gath- erings of Indians in counsel at his home.
Conrad Frederick Arpke, of Lippe-Detmold, was one of thirteen fam- ilies who settled in Herman town in 1847. He died July 23, 1909.
William Reineking is one of the band of thirteen who came to the town from Lippe Detmold, Germany, in 1847. While working in the field in September, 1861, he was killed by a falling tree.
In 1847 Simon Reineking came to the town with his parents, Frederick and Mary Reineking. He married Catherine Wehrmann in 1850. She and her brother were members of the little colony of thirteen which came to the town that year. Herman Frederick Reineking came in 1847.
In the latter part of 1846 Frederick Burhop, a native of Germany, set- tled in the town.
Christian Strassburger, a German immigrant, settled in this town in 1847, and Henry Marten, of Lippe-Detmold, was one of the pioneers of that year.
Henry G. Mueller, who later became a lumber dealer in Sheboygan, and sheriff of the county, emigrated to this country from Germany with his parents, Christian and Austina Mueller, in 1847 and settled in Herman town.
Louis Kerl left Germany with his family in 1847 and upon his arrival in Sheboygan county settled in this town. He first purchased eighty acres on section 25, where he erected a cabin and began to clear and make a farm.
Dr. Henry Bodenstab left his native land in 1844 and came to the United States. He arrived in Sheboygan from Albany, New York, in the fall of 1847, and a few days later located on a tract of land in Herman town, where with the aid of his two sons he attended a fine farm of two hundred and forty-three acres.
Casper Pfister with his wife left the fatherland in 1847 and landed on the shores of the new world. Coming direct to Sheboygan county, Mr. Pfister purchased a small tract of land in Herman town which was all in woods. On this he lived some five years, making improvements and at the same time cleaning and repairing watches and clocks. He then went to She-
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boygan and opened one of the first watchmaker's establishments in the place. His son, W. A. Pfister, succeeded him in business.
William Heyer located here in 1848. Philip H. Wolff arrived in this country from Germany with his young bride, Philipine, in March, 1848, and settled on eighty acres of timber land in section 26.
Charles H. Halbach, who later became a photographer in Sheboygan, settled in Howard's Grove in this town in 1848.
Cord Boedecker was one of the German pioneers of this town, arriving in 1849. He bought three hundred and twenty acres of timber land, upon which he built a log house.
August Pott came to this country with his parents, Gottfried and Anna Catherine Pott, from Rhenish Prussia, in 1849, and settled on wild land in the town of Herman.
A school district was organized in 1848, and Miss Eva Atwood taught the first school at the home of Charles Oetling.
The birth of a daughter to Fred Bender in December, 1846, and a son to Charles Oetling in August, 1847, were the first births in the town.
Herman Frederick Reineking was the first of the settlers to be married after coming here. The ceremony was performed in 1848 but not in She- boygan county, however, for the reason there was no one here at the time vested with the right to perform the marriage rites of the church to which the contracting parties belonged. His bride was Miss Charlotte Luhmann, a daughter of Simon and Sophia (Heitmann) Luhmann, who were mem- bers of the thirteen families who immigrated from Lippe-Detmold to the United States in 1847 and settled in Hermantown.
Rev. Mr. Clees held religious services here as early as 1849.
Herman is situated in the north tier of towns and is bounded on the east by Mosel, north by Manitowoc county, west by Rhine and south by Sheboygan Falls towns. There are four small trading places-Howard. Franklin, Ada and Edwards. Howard is situated at the junction of the Green Bay and the Sheboygan and Calumet roads, where a grist mill was built on the Pigeon river as early as 1853, but which burned down shortly after and was replaced by a sawmill put up by F. Beckfeld. Besides this the village had a cheese and cheese box factory, hotel, two general stores and a blacksmith shop. Franklin is on the Sheboygan river and has a sawmill and grist mill, both built as early as 1853. The village also had in 1854 a black- smith shop and store. Besides its mills, Franklin has a hotel, two general stores and two or three shops. The college and theological seminary of the German Reform church, more familiarly known as the Mission House, is a mile and a half northeast of Franklin, and is one of the largest institutions of the kind in the United States. At Ada on the Sheboygan and Calumet road in the northern part of section 8 is a hotel, cheese factory, store and blacksmith shop. At Edwards, on the Green Bay road in section 2, is a general store.
The population of Herman town in 1910 was 1,913, the majority of whom are Germans.
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MISSION HOUSE
No institution in Sheboygan county has been more beneficial and far- reaching in its influence for good than the Mission House. It is located on section 20 in the town of Herman. It had its origin in a desire of the membership of the Reformed church in the United States to educate young men for the ministry and for the profession of teaching. To carry out this idea a mission committee was appointed, consisting of Pastors H. A. Muehl- meier, Kluge, Schiller and Bossard, and of Elders H. Helming, F. Reine- king and C. Stoelting. At a meeting of this committee held on the 6th of December, 1860, it was decided to found such a school. Having no house for the purpose, Rev. H. A. Muehlmeier opened his home to the first stu- dents, furnishing them with a place to recite as well as giving them instruc- tion. On certain days of the week the students would walk four miles, carrying their lunch with them, to receive instruction from Rev. Dr. J. Bossard, pastor of the Saron's congregation. The first pupil to attend was Christian Schoepfle, who became pastor of a church in Defiance, Ohio. Later came August Becker, H. Helming, J. Yoth and Rev. Mr. Gehring, all of whom were ordained to the ministry. The first building was erected in 1862. In 1864 Rev. H. A. Muehlmeier was chosen house father, which position he filled for many years. His school prospered and from time to time other buildings were erected. In 1895 a fine building was erected for library, museum, recitation, laboratory and other purposes. About the time the first building was put up S. Steffen gave five acres of ground for a building site and F. Reineking donated ten acres of land adjoining. April 26, 1865, a committee purchased seventy-five acres from Mr. Steffen for the small consideration of $1,500. The object in acquiring land was to give the students an opportunity to earn their way through school and also to develop a strong physical manhood. The reputation of this institution be- came widely known and students from almost every state in the Union have been attracted to its halls. Rev. Dr. Bossard was the first professor to re- ceive any pay for his services. The first year he received $400, which was afterward increased to $500. The school now supports a large corps of pro- fessors-men of experience and ripe scholarship. The work is divided into two departments, that of the college proper and that of the theological seminary.
The Mission House is under control of three synods, namely : Synod of the Northwest, Central Synod and the German Synod of the East. It is supported, however, by the labors and sacrifices of the members of the German Reformed church throughout the United States.
In Franklin, on May 12, 1912, the new Emanuel Reformed church was dedicated. The present pastor is Rev. Martin, and his congregation is one of the oldest in this section. The building, which the present one has re- placed, had been in use for fifty years.
SHERMAN
Sherman is one of the best towns in Sheboygan county and was first settled in 1846. It was originally organized as a part of the town of Scott
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but was created a separate town in 1850 under the name of Abbott. In 1865 the name was changed to Sherman.
This town is situated in the center of the last tier. Ozaukee county bounds it on the south, Holland on the east, Lyndon on the north and Scott on the west. The soil is very productive and agriculture is the chief indus- try, although dairying is conducted to no small degree. The farms are well tilled, the buildings and fences are of the best, the roads are well taken care of and the people are prosperous. Good schools and well attended churches prevail.
It was in 1846 that J. B. Bassett, a native of New York, settled on sec- tion 10 and in the two following years those seeking new homes in the west located here in considerable numbers. Among them were the Abbotts, from whom the town first got its name; S. W. Bradley, J. E. Mitchell, Matthew Swartz, James Kinsler. Thomas Nugent, in 1841, at the age of sixteen, left the Green Isle and landed in New York. He subsequently went to New Orleans and remained there six years, when in 1847 he arrived in Sheboy- gan and soon thereafter located in the town of Sherman. Albert Shaw, a New Yorker, settled here on a tract of two hundred acres lying on the town line between Lyndon and Sherman, adjoining an Indian village, in 1847. In the fall of the same year his father, Abel Shaw, and family joined him. Hiram Townsend, a native of Vermont, settled here in the same year on a tract of one hundred and twenty acres of land, upon which he built a log cabin and began farming with ox teams. The following year his wife and three children joined him. Their home was within five miles of the old Indian planting ground and the red men would often pass the Townsends on fishing trips, stopping on their way to borrow kettles.
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